Life in the military isn't at all easy for Rachael. Where to begin? First, she's in love with a guy who's much older than her and who she's sure could never love her back. Being one of the only girls with all the soldiers, the other teenage boys are often trying to persuade her to be their little toy, and being objective just isn't becoming one of her best choices. Not to mention, she has no mother to take care of her. Rachael is own her own for the most part, and her life is just one big living hell. Fairness doesn't exist for Rachael.
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Chapters:

Father wasn't at the tent when I got
back. So I could cry all I needed to. But unfortunately my friend
Jennifer, who was a nurse, heard me as she walked by.

"Rachael?" she whispered then
entered. I wiped the tears from my eyes and sat up.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Why are you crying?"

"It's nothing. Just that time of
month."

"You said that last week."

"Did I? I've really got to keep
track of my excuses."

"You should just tell me the
truth."

"You don't want to hear it, and I
just want to forget about it."

"You can tell me can't you?"

"I can't tell anyone."

"Alright, but when you're done
crying, I want you to meet someone. A new boy has come to the
camp. We're keeping him away from Shaun, so you might have a
chance to be friends. You said you wanted a friend your age
right?"

"That's sweet, but he'll join the
group anyways, just like all the others."

"Well, your father wants you to meet
him too. He ordered me to come get you."

"Just let me clean up, and I'll be
there in a moment."

"You want me to walk with
you?"

"No, I'll be okay."

"Alright." She left the tent and I
got up then washed my face with water we kept in a bowl. I looked
at myself in a hand mirror. All better.

"Rachael, this is Robby." My father
introduced. I shook his hand. "He's seventeen, fine young man.
And Robby, this is my daughter, Rachael, she's sixteen." He
introduced. Oh great, my father was trying to set me up. Sure, he
was hot. But he couldn't have picked a worse time… or maybe a
better one. I was thoughtful for a moment. Maybe he could help me
get my mind off of Danny. No such luck, because Danny showed up
just then. I looked at the ground.

"Shit." I muttered to myself.

"There you are. Danny, meet Robby."
Father said. I looked back up. Danny shook Robby's hand. Father
leaned over to Danny and whispered something in his ear. Danny's
face turned red at hearing it. Father elbowed him jokingly. It
wasn't hard to know he was talking about Robby and I.

"You think so?" he asked
Danny.

"Yeah." Danny muttered then looked
at me. I looked down at the ground again.

"Why don't we all let Robby and
Rachael get to know each other? Besides we all have work to do."
Father said. He ushered everyone out the door. Danny stayed in
place.

"Well, c'mon." said father.

"One moment General. I need to talk
to Rachael for a moment. She asked me a question earlier. I told
her I'd answer it as soon as I knew it."

"Alright, but don't take too long."
Father grumbled. He then left, my face turned white. Robby
noticed, and looked at Danny suspiciously. He put a hand on my
arm.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I couldn't
answer, because I couldn't breathe. Danny walked over to me and
pulled away from him.

"Do you know what's going on?" he
whispered. I nodded, still unable to speak.

"Are you okay with this? Is this
what you were talking about?"

"I don't know. I don't know
anything. How has everything fallen apart so quickly? I should
have kept my mouth shut."

"It would have come out sooner or
later."

"Better later."

"It would have been worse."

"But I would be happy now."

"Well, it happened, so you'll just
have to deal with it."

"As if I don't have enough problems.
You'd better go, before father gets angry. And for the last time,
get some damn sleep!"

* ***

I sat across from Robby in silence.
He fidgeted, not sure what to do.

"So, what's it like being the
General's daughter? I mean, being the only sixteen year old girl
here?" he asked. I looked up at him, and smiled. Then burst out
into laughter. His eyes widened.

"What's so funny?" he asked. I held
up a finger. It took a minute to calm down.

"It's complicated." I said, still
trying not to laugh.

"Well, what's it like living
here?"

"Simple as this, welcome to
hell."

"That bad?"

"For me it is. And I'm not even in
the war. But you still see a lot of people die. A lot of people
you've come to know. I've been to a lot of funerals. It's life
and death around here. And if you're not in the war yourself,
then it's all about watching your back."

"From what?"

"For me, it's Shaun's group. You
probably haven't met them, but you will. You'll probably end up
joining them too, just like the others, and if you do, we'll be
worst enemies."

"Why?"

"If you do join them you'll figure
it out."

"Then I won't join them. I want to
be your friend."

"Thanks, that means a lot. But it's
easier said than done." And then they came. All eight of them
entered the tent. Right on cue, dammit. I stood up and backed
away.

"Oh, I see you've already met the
new guy." Said Shaun. He took a step toward me and I backed
against the wall of the tent. He smiled. Then he closed in the
space between us. He put a hand up and ran his fingers through my
hair. Then he grasped it and pulled me from the wall. He led me
over to the group.

"Guys, take her to our special spot
while I talk to the new kid here. I'll be there in a moment." He
said. Allen took a hold of me and covered my mouth. I didn't try
to fight, knowing it would be useless. But then Robby stood
up.

"I'll ask you one time to let her
go." He warned. They laughed at his threat.

"Hey, we're here to offer you a
deal. We'll share her with you." Shaun promised.

"Is that a no?"

"Sure is." I don't know how it
happened, but suddenly Robby was punching Shaun and he was on the
ground unconscious. Robby looked at the others. It was fast, and
a little scary.

"Any one else going to refuse?"
Allen let me go then. Then he pushed me toward Robby, who took my
arm and pulled me to him.

"Now I'll ask you one time. Leave,
and I don't want you to ever touch her again." All of them
started to leave. They were nothing without their leader.

"Take him with you." He said, then
nodded toward Shaun. They picked him up and carried him out of
the tent. Robby released his grip on me. Then Danny came running
in.

"Rachael, are you okay?" he said to
me. "Why was Shaun being carried out? What happened?"

"They came in here to meet Robby.
Then they tried to take me away. Robby knocked out Shaun. Danny,
come here." I said. He quickly closed in the space between us and
hugged me. I hugged him tightly for a minute then I pushed him
away a little.

"I need to breathe." I lied. I
waited for him to let his hands go to his sides, then I snatched
his gun from his belt and bolted out of the tent.

It was breaking time.

I ran faster than I ever had before,
and for once no one could catch me.

"Rachael don't!" Danny shouted from
behind me. I ran even faster.

"Someone stop her!" he shouted.
People started coming out of their tents to see what was going
on. I sped by them. Eventually they figured out something was
wrong with me when they saw I was running with a gun, and started
chasing after me.

"Stop Rachael!" I heard father
shout. I did something I never did; I ignored him and kept
running. Then I saw them. Shaun was walking with his arm around
Ben. I was sweating as I stopped right behind the group. They
heard the shouts coming from the mob that was after me and all
turned around.

I raised the gun and pointed it at
Shaun. He would be first. I fired the gun, and missed. All the
boys ran in different directions as I shot again, and again, and
again. I missed every time. I was about to shoot again when the
gun was snatched from my hands. It was an officer. Officer Jones,
I think.

"Are you crazy? What has gotten into
you? I should put you under arrest." I saw the rest of the group
was catching up, all of them sweaty and angry. So I did something
stupid, I turned and started running again. Just as fast as last
time. Maybe even faster. But I cried this time. I was well out of
the boundaries of camp when I collapsed.

I put my hands in front of me to
catch my fall. Then I turned onto my back and cried. I couldn't
believe what I'd just done. But I almost didn't care. Because I
realized I was free now. Free from father, free from Shaun, free
from Danny, Robby, the war. I was done.

I slowly stood up. So maybe I didn't
have much. No clothes, no food, no friends, no family and no
money. But it was worth it. Yeah, I'd miss them. Without a doubt
I'd miss them. But I had to get out. Besides, if I went back, I'd
be put in jail for attempted murder. Wouldn't I? Probably not, I
was the General's daughter after all.

I guess I just wasn't good at
handling my problems. So leaving them behind seemed like a good
thing to do. I didn't deserve it. I didn't deserve to be scared,
to be in love with someone I could never be with. I was only
sixteen damn it! I had my whole life ahead of me. But the thing I
wanted to get away from the most, was watching my friends die. I
was thinking about promising myself I'd never go back, that I'd
die before I would. But I knew it was a promise I couldn't keep.
I'd have to go back, to finally kill them, to see if he moved on,
to let my father know I was safe. I'd write them I decided. No
return address. Let them know I was alive. I at least owed them
that.